Mars Base Command is a GO!

UPDATE: Bear with me for a day or so - I've received a LOT of emails requesting digital versions. While I'm hesitant to do so, I'm willing to investigate it again as an option. Pricing is an issue because I need to build in the fact that electronic copies are going to find their way onto the Internet... I'm just not sure yet. Plus a single digital copy can be printed numerous times and can be used for a team of 5 or 10 teams of 20 - it's the quantity of unit sales that will keep this project going, so how can I cover my time invested into this project and still make it affordable? How do I handle the Roster when it comes to a single digital copy being used by multiple teams? (Adding data for teams and individuals to the Roster takes time.) I have a lot of questions, so let me ponder for a day or so. - Jim

Thanks to everyone for their patience... the first module is titled "Mars Base Alpha: Plan B" and is available today - 100 pages, $14.50 from cafepress.com, spiral-bound. 3 Mission Models, Challenge Rules, Scoring information, Mission Forms, FAQ, and more.

It all starts at www.marsbasecommand.com

Be sure to read the information on the Join, Data, and FAQ tabs... then click the Alpha tab to get started. You can download the free Module Summary document (PDF) and read the story and other information and decide if you'd like to attempt the missions.

Good luck - have fun this summer - and look for information on the second module to be released over the next month or so.

Celebrating MINDSTORMS with a Remix - Part 3

The ROBOTMAK3RS continued their celebration of the 25th Anniversary of MINDSTORMS through these Fall and Winter remix projects. Each ROBOTMAK3R was tasked with selecting one LEGO set of their choice and combining it with a MINDSTORMS set. Below are the five amazing models they came up with. Braill3 by Jerry Nicholls Braill3 is an EV3-based LEGO Braille bricks reader. This robot uses its fingertip, made from three touch switches, to read messages written using the LEGO Braille bricks and will speak out what it detected. If it sees a simple maths problem it will attempt to solve it and give the answer as well. To learn more about the process of creating this machine, read Jerry's blog . Braill3 can be viewed here . Set Review: The Braille Bricks set is well thought out. The ratios of the letters is suitable for general use and the addition of some punctuation and arithmetic operators is excellent. There is a card showing what bricks there are and their quantities, but no form of sort...

Celebrating MINDSTORMS with a Remix - Part 2

The ROBOTMAK3RS continued their celebration of the 25th Anniversary of MINDSTORMS through these summer and fall remix projects. Each ROBOTMAK3R was tasked with selecting one LEGO set of their choice and combining it with a MINDSTORMS set. Below are the five amazing models they came up with. Remote controlled material handle r by Jozua van Ravenhorst (aka Mr Jo) This remix combines the LEGO Technic Material Handler (42144) with MINDSTORMS EV3 (31313) It uses the power of pneumatic cylinders to move objects around. By using a bluetooth remote control, very precise movements can be made with this model. Touch sensors in the base chassis prevent the turret twisting the cables that go through the turntable to much. The program has several protections to prevent over pressurizing the system for each of the 3 individual pumps and valves that control the 2 booms and claws. The real version of this machine is mostly used in waste material sites to bring the material to machines that sort and...

Celebrating 25 Years of MINDSTORMS

In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of MINDSTORMS, we take a trip through history. Please also visit ROBOTMAK3RS Community every week as we highlight different projects all through 2023 in celebration of the anniversary. Some of the early history is based on the content shared by Coder Shah in our MINDSTORMS EV3 Community Group . Some of the text and links may have been edited from his original posts for consistency and clarity. 1984 - Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen watched a TV program called "Talking Turtle," where MIT professor Seymour Papert demonstrated how children could control robot "turtles" using LOGO, a programming language he developed. 1988 - The collaboration between MIT and LEGO resulted in LEGO TC Logo in 1988, which allowed students to control LEGO models using computer commands. The video shows Papert demonstrating TC Logo. 1990 - LEGO TC Logo was hampered since the robots you built had to be tethered to a personal computer. LEGO and MIT...

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